This is my favorite farm to pick apples. Sometimes the line for food is long but it's sooooo worth it!

apple picking - year 7. quite possibly the best cider donuts to date. i mean, i'm doing these things a year apart so there's no side-by-side comparison (note to self: side by side cider donut battle royale should happen) but these were almost a little bit over-fried so there was little bit of crispiness at the edges, yet they were soft and warm. girl behind the counter: "do you want them tossed in sugar and cinnamon?" me: "is that a real question?" the apple picking is good here as well. in mid-october there were plenty of apples to be had without climbing (unless, of course, you want to climb - which i do) and the rows of trees are well marked so you know what you're picking (at least until they're all in the bag). it's a buy-a-bag-and-fill-it place. small bags are $18 and the bigguns are $26. the big bag holds about 20 - 25 pounds of apples. there's a farm stand, of course, for cider, jellies, jams, pies, fudge, pies, pies, and pies along with pumpkins and other gourd-based decorations. there are a bunch of loose pumpkins out in a field as well, but it didn't look like a real pumpkin patch from what i could see. there's also a small ice cream stand where you can order burgers, dogs and the like from the perpetual cookout area - good idea for those making a day of it with the fam-dam-ily. they've got pony and tractor rides for the kids, as well as what appeared to be just a huge mound of hay for kids to fling themselves into. not sure i'd pay extra for any of that, but you might. the orchard itself is relatively flat which seemed to attract more than a few people with small kids and strollers, but was big enough that people could spread out and relax. i could see it getting crowded, but it wasn't when we went on a beautiful afternoon in october - and i would think that's when it would be crowded. shelburne is pretty easy to get to, parking is not complicated and plentiful, and it seems it's not as popular with the crowds as some other places in the area, so the lines were never nightmarishly long. read more

Called ahead to inquire about Asian Pears. They said they had plenty. Got there and also asked about Honeycrisp. They said there should still be some for picking. We went to the apples first. We found 3 OK apples and that was all. Couldn't even fill a small bag so we returned the bag. Went over to the asian pears. There were only 2 rows. There was plenty of fruit, but they were all small and not ripe yet. There was some asian pears at the top of the trees that looked Ok but couldn't reach them. Asked about ladders, but they told us they don't have any out. Saw a bunch of folks walking around with empty boxes. Ended up with 7 or 8 small asian pears and 3 peaches just to fill the box. Way too expensive for mediocre fruit. They should be honest with customers and not waste their time! May be fine if you come at the right time, but I wouldn't have come if they told me the asia pears weren't ready. read more

I can't tell you how happy I am to have this gem close by! The cider donuts are to die for! They have a great activity area for the kids as well as animals. The apples and other produce are top notch! They employ a lot of local residents of all ages. A local treasure for sure! read more

I went out to Shelburne in an attempt to escape the 'Honeypot Hill' factor... you know, hordes of urbanite yuppies descending on the trees like locusts, tearing the gorgeous fruit from the branches, discovering a spot, discarding an otherwise perfect fruit in disgust, and trampling it into the ground. Children having temper tantrums. Parents acting badly. I call it a partial success. I was able to walk among the trees (I never do the pick-your-own because they have to charge extra to cover the damage this invariably engenders) and smell the fall air... and the diesel exhaust of the hayride going by. Ah well... can't win 'em all. Why, you ask, did I go here instead of one of the smaller, more-farm-less-tourist-attraction orchards? Simple... I wanted cider donuts. To get these donuts, you have to: wait in a line to order. Place your order. Wait in a line to pay. Wait in a throng by the side waiting for them to call your number. I didn't find out if you had to wait in a line to eat them, because one line is enough and two is too many. My friend and I got caramel apples and hot cider instead and only waited in two lines. The food was actually gone before we were able to pay. Weird. I wonder how many people only wait in the first line... I guess part of the disconnect is that I can't really appreciate this place because I don't really have kids, so the hayrides and petting zoo ("an evil petting zoo?") were kind of lost on me. It's not Shelburne's fault that the place was mobbed, but why are there four people taking orders but only one processing payment? If they have a line of fifty people waiting for donuts, why can't they anticipate this and... make MORE donuts? I can't believe that I visited them at the peak of the season, either... it's gonna get worse before it gets better. Anyway, I went to Carver Hill afterwards (one mile up the road) to actually buy some apples. Why? No lines! read more

This Farm is warming and very inviting. I knew the first time I went there I wanted to work there. I now do and I can say we all love it there we are a big happy family. We have animals that we named and we have apple picking and we sometimes have peaches. We have entertainment for the young ones and a live band. Well we also have cinder donuts that I and others make ourselves and there are so good but we offer so much more it's crazy. I hope you join us for fun in the fall. We love to have you! read more

Warm cider donuts: incredible taste! Friendly staff. Small unassuming nice orchard easy walk Good apple selection/prices read more

OK, when I say I'm going "apple picking" in the fall, I'm really going to find a warm cider donut....Shelburne Farm delivers! It was warm and delicious! I did the requisite apple picking and pumpkin choosing too so I'm glad this farm had that...but yum- those donuts :) I knocked a star off for warming up apple juice and calling it hot cider. Relatively less crowded than Honey Pot or Smolak...I had NO WAIT for my cider donut and a row of apple trees all to myself for the picking (Note- I did have to hoof it a bit to the back of the orchard but there were still a great variety and quantity of apples). read more

Great place to pick pumpkins and get some cider donuts.

This place is so much fun. The apples picked were delicious, you can either get a 10 or a 20 pound bag and stuff it with as many apples as you can fit. The orchard was gigantic but only a few rows were available for picking ( at the time is was Macintosh and Cortland). There were a few farm animals and hay rides and a bounce castle, all that good stuff for kids. There was a little jazz band playing in front of the store/restaurant. The store had so many delicious things (pumpkin fudge!) and they sold warm apple cider donuts. They were scrumptious. Go here if you want a fun afternoon with lots to do for kids and lots of stuff to consume for adults. read more

We had a great time taking our 10-month old to her first pumpkin patch! Still plenty of pumpkins to choose from, and there are hay rides, pony rides and a moon bounce for older kids. The apple cider and apple cider donuts were both to die for, and my husband even got a cheeseburger from the grill which was pretty good too! We bought a pumpkin and an apple pie to go. The apples in the pie were the best I have ever had! Such a fun day, we will definitely be back. Fall at it's finest. read more

Such an incredible disappointment. EVERY SINGLE APPLE WAS PUNCTURED OR DAMAGED. DO NOT WASTE YOUR MONEY. It was impossible to fill even a small bag. I just ate one of the GOOD apples that we found and immediately spit it out. SO ACIDIC! Also how has this place not been shut down by lawsuit yet. The uneven terrain makes it nearly impossible for strollers or the elderly with huge rocks in the path and tractor trails. Path ways are obviously not cleared. Apples everywhere. Even the trees that were taped off had damaged apples. Definitely either a horrible harvest year or something else but seriously clean up your trails. The only good thing was the donut. read more

I'm a fan mainly because they have this Cabot special reserve aged cheddar that is DELICIOUS. And really good apple cider donuts. It's a super family friendly affair, they have all sorts of things for the kiddies, some cute (overwieght) farm critters and a pretty well organized orchard. I've been going for over a decade and every year it gets busier, they add more things for the kids to do, but they never have i had a bad experience. The lines do get longer but the people running the joint are as friendly as ever. read more

Went on a gorgeous sunny day, apples for picking were Cortland and Macs. Lot's of them were picked over, and it sucks to see all the beautiful full trees roped off, but come on....pretty much everywhere you turn are hundreds of apples. Best part was the picnic they let us have in the middle of the orchard. We parked ourselves for 2 hours in the sun. Cider donuts were super. Got pretty crowded, but it was the perfect day! Lots of activites for the kids - maze, hayride, farm animals. read more

Great apples, great experience. The owner clearly goes out of his/her way to ensure a quality product, while contributing to furthering the science of the industry (they have some sort of high-density growing area of the farm that is not open for picking; looks very cool). I recommend the apple cider doughnuts. Holy cow. read more

Had some delicious creamy potently walnutty ice cream, very well competitive with the ice cream gods of Westford, much more reasonably priced and without the long lines. read more

I took my boys (5 & 3 yrs) here on Columbus day. The parking lot was close enough so that we could pick apples and put them into the car. I like that it wasn't a giant mountain to climb to get the apples, and we didn't have to wait in a long ride for a tractor to bring us to the apples. So for apple picking, it was great- lots of low apples for my kids to pick without climbing. They had 'special' attractions for the holiday which included a bouncy house. The problem with this was, A) there was no place to take shoes off or put them back on, B) there was a lot of mud, so my three yr old stepped in it in his socks. A bench would have been ideal or a couple of chairs. The line outside for the donuts & treats (ice cream, popcorn, etc.) looked long & chaotic, so we went into the store to get cider and caramel apples. The line was very very long and slow (at least 20 min, but felt longer with 2 little ones). They said they take credit cards, but had to make a carbon imprint, which really slowed things down. Also, you have to order the caramel apples from the person at the register, which wasn't time efficient. I ordered 2 with nuts and 2 without. 1 apple is $3.50, which I wouldn't mind so much if I got what I ordered and paid for. In the chaos she put the apples in a bag for me and we carried cider and a couple of pumpkins out and when we got home I realized that there was 1 apple with nuts and 3 plain. That was disappointing. Also, there should be a safer place to cross from the parking lot to the picking area, there was a long line of cars going in & out of the lot, and you had to kind of DIVE in between them to get to your car. Overall OK, I expected crowd for the holiday, but they could certainly increase the staff to meet the demand. read more

The apple picking was fantastic - the employees were ver helpful and the orchard was organized and easy to navigate. The farmstand on the other hand, was a catastrophe. A 45 minute wait for cold cider and a donut is just not acceptable. read more

Wonderful place! A lot less crowded than Honey Pot and a much better experience. There were plenty of activities for all ages and the apples are delicious. The animals were all healthy and properly housed, unlike Honey Pot. Everyone was friendly and helpful. We enjoyed the hay ride. We will be going back! read more

Ok so last year our experience was better but we went today and it was terrible. The line and wait for apple donuts was over an hour. They were disorganized and giving half orders while waiting on other items ordered. Then the older woman inside had the audacity to expect us to get back in the long line for bottled water when my sister was still checking out. She could have sold her the water. Extremely rude and unprofessional. Next year we will go local. read more

Went apple picking here the other day. The selection was great. There were lots of cute farm animals to pet and horses to feed apples to! I liked the selection of goodies available at the snack stand. The apple cider donuts and French apple tarte were amazing! My only complaint is that for a small bag of apples it was $20, which is a little expensive for me. I would return though. read more

This pumpkin patch is overly crowded and not really a full patch of pumpkins. You can't buy anymore pony rides at 3 which is unfortunate. The hayride driver we had was miserable. The good thing is that there is a bouncy house for the little ones to be entertained by and their gift shop is filled with apples, pumpkins, and delicious treats. read more

Came here for apple picking with my family and two yo niece! Great variety of apples. Affordable. Small playing area for kids so that they don't get super bored read more

This place was beyond packed, it was a little overwhelming. The apple orchard was great, not crowded once you got in there, but I think $30 for a small bag is a bit steep but thats ok. The one thing that really ruined the whole experience was the line for the apple stand. Why, with this busy a place, there is only 2 windows with 2 high school cashiers is absolutely BEYOND me! You HAVE to cater to the demand!! Stood in line for 30 minutes- ordered apple cider donuts- told it was a 20 min wait for donuts- decided to wait for them- ONE HOUR LATER we had to bug them as to where our donuts were!?absolutely unacceptable and a gross underestimate of the REAL wait time. Theres 0 reason it shouldve taken this long. The whole setup for the apple stand is a complete disaster read more

Sounded nice online, but fell quite short. Donuts are small and I doubt they have any cider in them , so falsely named "Cider Donuts" Cider is not made there, and the cider they sell is quite poor. Pasteurized and contains preservatives so it tastes awful. Orchard was already over picked and exuberantly priced, apples were not ripe and very few varieties available. poor quality products, expensive, and crowded. read more

We went on a weekday morning with kids and it was wonderful. There was plenty of parking and the trees were not picked over. We had a great time and will go again next fall! read more

First off Good Evening, I must say the staff was super sweet! Had a great time until my children got into the bouncy house and there was a staff standing by it (Pretty young guy) and him & another staff working by the burgers and things came over talking about liabilities and so fourth and so on and also a racist man who removed his kids soon as my kids got in, they all could've played together. It was not that serious! We don't play the racist card here at all. I will not go back. read more

I'm so disappointed with this farm. We entered and were a little thrown off by how disorganized the parking was; Had we been smart, we should have cut our losses and left before we started. We waited 40 minutes to pay for a bag for apples, and then walked around a mostly empty orchard. To be fair, they said it was the last day of picking, so we knew not to expect a ton, but they weren't labeled at all! That shouldn't have been the case at any time, no matter how many or few apples there are. So we blindly climbed trees and picked apples, and headed to the store for some donuts. We waited 20 minutes to pay for the donuts, and as soon as the transaction was complete, she told us it was a 30-40 minute wait!! We never would have bought them had we have known! I've been to Tougas every year, on the weekend, and have never had this issue. I'd say take the trip to Tougas and get everything and more for less money. read more

The J.C.C group went to Shelburne Farm for Apple Picking and for Hay Ride and lunch at Shelburne Farm. it was a good Day the Food was good but lot of Money to buy Lunch. The Cider Donuts are very Good. read more

We went here for apple picking last year and loved it. Well organized orchards, incredible "country store" with absolutely yummy apple squares, fudge and home baked chocolate chip cookies fresh out of the oven. Very friendly, down to earth, and knowledgeable staff, awesome to deal with. Will be going back this year! read more

I just had my Son's 3rd birthday party there, and we all had a great time. The staff was more then helpful and very friendly. The kids had a blast and The adults had just as much fun as they did. My guest were talking about how good the cider donuts were. I will Definitely recommend this orchard to my family and friends. read more

Shelburne Farm - Hay Ride - Farms Near Me - Stow, Massachusetts

I have never been to this farm although I've lived nearby my whole life. I thought it was very well run and organized. Considering the number of people that were there it was amazing that the lines went so fast! I decided to take my four children on a Sunday. They are 13,13,10 and 5. My husband was on a business trip and I thought I could do something fun with them. I would definitely do this again, with or without my husband. There was plenty of parking and all the people who worked there were very nice and extremely helpful. We started by taking a pony ride. Both my girls were able to partake of this. My two boys did not ride the ponies. The ponies themselves were very cute, the smallest "Lollipop" was adorable. The line moved fairly quickly and the girls who were giving the rides were very pleasant , helpful and friendly. Next, we rode on a hayride. We were all able to go on this. The ride itself toured the whole orchard (or at least it seemed too!). The ride itself was quite long, as compared to other hayrides I've been on that take longer to load and unload than the actual ride itself. Their were plenty of tractors to pull the wagons so the wait was not bad. We picked apples after the hayride. We were given very good directions by the farmhand on where to go to get the apples we wanted. We were looking for Macouns and had no trouble finding the correct trees, the trees were abundant with fruit. We also noticed plenty of other kinds of apples available for picking. After we picked our apples, all four of my children went through the maze. It was not a challenging maze, but there was a tractor to play on, as well as a mountain of hay bales to climb. All the children appeared to be enjoying themselves. Right beside the maze were the animals. There were sheep, goats, a llama and chickens that we saw. The pens were clean and neat. Next, was the moon bounce. Not to be missed according to my two girls. Again, the line moved quickly and the children were allowed 5 minutes to bounce around. More than enough time for them. At least they weren't begging to go immediately back inside. We did opt to skip the store. Being a single adult with four children in a crowded room is not my idea of fun! Besides, we'd eaten enough apples already to be happily full. Our last stop was the tractor rides. Great fun for my 5 year old, and best of all, no line, no time limit. There were different toy tractors to ride as well as a farm to play with, along the same idea as a Thomas the train set. I would highly recommend trying Shelburne Farm. It was family friendly, well organized, clean and easy to get too. read more

This has turned into an annual trip for my family and friends. We love it here! The parking is free and easy. Everything is close together so its near to all the attractions. The cider donuts are fresh and served warm right off the conveyor belt and the kids cant watch the doughnut maker through a warm steamy window. I know the donuts are made with cider- you can see them pouring it in as they mix the next batch. The apples were plentiful and our bag was filled in a few minutes. The man at the orchard entrance guided us to the varieties that were ready. I thought there would be more kinds available but he explained that all apples dont ripen at the same time. Who knew? Then he told us where the best ones would be. The farm also has these cool stick trees they are growing for an experiment- we couldn't pick those but they were available in the store. They have the biggest Honey Crisps you have ever seen! Eat apples- be happy! read more

Love the fact that it is a local business and is much less commercial than Honey Pot. Was really shocked at the prices yesterday though. A box of pick you own peaches $23 and that is only if you are below 8lbs, exceed that and they charge you $3.95 per lb. We did it though ( love those peaches) passed on the apple picking ($50 for a day of pick your own is too high). and we just bought apples in the store. Gave it a 3 because I think they should have a smaller option for peach picking and some lower prices for people who do not want $45.00 worth of fruit. Don't go in the real season. It is awfully crowded and you get coralled into small places only to pick. They make sure EVERY tree is picked before they open up another spot so you will be tripping over other pickers. Go during a weekday or off time. read more

There is only one word to describe this place, HEAVEN ON EARTH. actually that is three words, but this place deserves it. i was there this past fall for apple picking with my family and immediately returned the next weekend. When we arrived there was a fairly large parking lot that was just two steps from everything. 1) the apple shoppe itself. The shoppe sold everything from cakes for cookbooks to cider to childrens hats and John Deere collectables. Everything, either farm or apple oriented. The apple store/ concessions were UNBELIEVABLE. The Cider donuts were literally powdered, fluffy gold. I had one (super cheap) and immediatley had to buy 2.....or 3 dozen. Plus they have hot mulled cider, which was yuuuummmmmyyyyy. 2) Second the lovely employees told us that there was a hay ride that ran every 15 minutes or so and directed us to it. However we got side-tracked with the moon bounce, tractor ride, and hay maze and mountain and got a little confused. So we went over to a kind employee who almost more than happily directed us to the ride. He even made cute little small talk with my 2 daughters. There were plenty of apples for us to pick in all the varieties we wanted. The orchard was large and varied enough for us to enjoy ourselves but at the same time it only took us a few minutes to get from one end to the other. There were apples low enough for my 5 year old daughter who really enjoyed the experience of being able to pick unlike at places like Honey Pot Orchards where she was only able to walk around with us. 2 Years ago we went to Honey Pot Hill Orchard and had a terrible time. The employees seemed like they did not want to help us and they mostly just pushed us off to other employees. The atmosphere on our Shelburne trip was completely filled with smiles and more- than -happy- to attitudes. In all honesty if youre going apple picking in the Stow/Middlesex area go to Shelburne Farms. It is a great time for the whole family read more

First off- I read the other negative reviews, and being a, what seems like weekly customer i need to inform readers about the prices.The candy apples are NOT $3.75, the glass of cider is NOT $1.75, its 75 cents, and donuts are NOT $1.00 each they are too 75 cents. Also, the review about the animals being shy......their animals people! would you like it more if the employees were in the pen forcing the animals to the fence? come on. be real. And if certain trees were available to pick from dont you think they would be open. People, certain apples are certain colors when they are growing. Now the snack window, i'll admit is a little chaotic, however seeing is how there are hundreds of customers and only about 5 people can fit behind the window, a little patience is well worth the amazing donuts!!!! which is probably the greatest food in the world. mmmhhmmm! This place is amazing, the orchard is large enough for their to be plenty of room to get your own tree and have blast! the animals were really cute to look at! the maze is small, but it is also intended for very small children, and if it was larger, can you say fire hazard? we love this place and will continue to come back yearly! read more

This is one of the most family-friendly, beautiful orchards around! The atmosphere is so festive! There were plenty of apples to pick & I have never tasted such sweet peaches! Worth the price for local produce!The cider donuts are crispy on the outside & cake-like on the inside--fabulous--the best I've tasted! I also learned that the reason some trees are roped off is that the apples aren't ready yet--who wants to eat unripe apples? Definitely the best orchard in the area! read more

There is nothing like a sunny day in an orchard, particularly when there are apples to pick and a pleasant view from the top of a low hill. It is a great season for apples and this place has a great variety. It is a great family place and I think it has the greatest ice cream in the area. I can also vouch for their cider donuts, hot sandwiches, apple squares, aged Vermont chedder cheese, and much, much more. There seems to be plenty to amuse the younger children and the kids were everywhere. They also have a great pumpkin patch! read more

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Shelburne Farms is a great pick your own apple orchard which is oriented towards families with young children. I have taken my three young children to the farm several years in a row and it has always been a treat for each of them. In addition to the actual apple picking activity, my kids enjoy munching on the delicious hot cinnamon sugar cider donuts while taking a hay ride around the 50 acre farm. The farm has a few other attractions like a llama, goats and rabbits. They don't want you to feed the animals any longer, but you can still pet them if they come near the fence and the kids enjoy that just the same. When they tire of the animals, there's a moon bounce ride and hay maze to entertain them. We can spend a solid two hours between all the different activities. There's plenty of value in that, and the kids go home happy. There are certainly lines to wait through, but that's not unique. Once the word gets out about any place worth visiting, there are going to be lines. I seem to be there when the parking lot is just about bursting, but even then, the lines move relatively quickly. I read reviews with people complaining about the lines, but I just don't think it's any big deal. We always manage to have a great time here. If you're looking for a good place to bring the kids, give this farm a try. And don't forget to get some cider donuts. They are worth the trip for those alone! read more

I love Shelburne Farm! I went there with some of my friends a few weekends ago on a Saturday. Now let me tell you, we had been warned by many people about how busy apple orchards can get on the weekends. We got there and we were efficiently directed to their huge parking lot. We decided to pick apples first. The bags were pretty expensive, but running a seasonal farm is also extremely expensive so I understand the prices. The apples we found were delicious! They were pretty far in the back of the orchard so we got a great walk. It's beautiful out there. Next we went to the apple shop. They had such a good selection of fudges, apples, ciders, pies, ice cream, donuts, coffee, the list goes on! The line was pretty long but the system that they had set up was pretty intense. They had ropes out for the line and employees were taking orders while we were waiting in line, which was extremely efficient. We paid and waited a little longer for the food to be ready. The employees are working like crazy in that store, let me tell you! It's pretty small in their kitchen but it is a small rural farm and not McDonald's, so what could you expect? I also noticed that the cider is from a different farm so I asked someone about it. They told me that they take all of their own bad apples and drive them to a neighboring orchard where it goes through a press and is bottled. Shelburne's apples, Shelburne's cider... The employees were mostly teenagers but were so friendly and knowledgeable. My friends and I were very impressed. As we drove out, the girl who was directing traffic by the entrance smiled and waved goodbye to us. It was a great way to end a great day :) read more